]]>http://catherinelakebaptist.com/blog/march-29-2015-sermon/feed/0noA sermon on John 12:12-19 By Brian MannPastor MannA sermon on John 12:12-19 By Brian MannReformedhttp://catherinelakebaptist.com/blog/march-29-2015-sermon/http://catherinelakebaptist.com/blog/audio/bm32915.mp3An Awakening Strong Enough to Break Winter’s Grip On the Evangelical Church ! !http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CatherineLakeBaptistChurch/~3/AAcWyr1C5cc/
http://catherinelakebaptist.com/blog/an-awakening-strong-enough-to-break-winters-grip-on-the-evangelical-church/#commentsWed, 25 Mar 2015 20:10:04 +0000catherinelakebaptist@gmail.com (Pastor Mann)http://catherinelakebaptist.com/blog/?p=12248God uses means to perform His work of revival. There h […]]]>

God uses means to perform His work of revival. There has certainly been a renewal of theology in America especially among we who call ourselves reformed and baptist together, and among Evangelicals across the board; But, can we say we have really been awakened until obedience springs forth from the pulpit & pews in such vastness that matches all of the headlines we have posted on every theological topic under the sun ? There is indeed a God in heaven responsible for all of this power to enable us wretched educated sinners to become truly obedient Christians, and we should not live otherwise. We may be tempted to leave Christ in the grave this Easter not simply by refusing to preach on Easter because we are far too puritan, but because having preached on it we do not challenge people to obey the risen Lord ! I wonder if we preachers and teachers forget or at least lose focus that it is God watching us not merely men on any given Sunday morning. And we dear brethren should be more intent at turning our eyes to God, and thus asking Him if we are doing a good job at calling sinners to repent and obey, and Christians to do the same (since we do profess that the constant preaching of repentance is necessary, right?).

Spring is here, not as a season to be observed religiously like the Judaizer, but as a known ordained fact that God has set forth seasons which do indeed declare the glory of God ! The first signs of Spring including the buds and blooms on trees grab our attention enough to have hope that the winter’s long cold will eventually be broken. I was encouraged by this short excerpt from Alec Motyer on Preaching today:

” ‘Jeremiah, what do you see?’ said the Lord, and Jeremiah replied, ‘I see the branch of an almond tree’ (1:11) — a highly uninformative reply for a non-gardener like me who would not know a an almond branch if he saw it! But, rushing to my aid, come the commentators. The almond was the first plant where signs of growth and of the advent of spring appeared. So I am told. Waxing poetical, the commentaries say it was the place where the iron grip of winter was seen to be broken. If that sounds dramatic, it is no more dramatic than the reality in our own gardens, when suddenly the dormancy and deadness of the winter months fall victim to the tiniest green shoot, where the brittleness of the winter twig is suddenly, and the gradually, green and pliant. Well, probably so for Jeremiah and the almond tree! Who am I to argue? In any case, this is the message the Lord used the almond branch to illustrate. In Hebrew an ‘almond branch’ is shaqed (‘the waking one’), and the Lord responds by saying ‘I am shoqed_–on the watch/wide awake — over my word to do it.’ The branch contains the principle of ‘awakening’ — an awakening powerful enough to break winter’s grip –and the Lord matches that by His own alertness to implement the quickening power of His Word. Our task is the Word; His task is the quickening.” (Preaching? Simply Teaching on Simply Preaching, p.117-118 emphasis mine)

Here, here, Motyer ! Say on dear brother ! Say on ! It seems with all of the talk of how powerful, sovereign, and wonderful God is, we have lost the implications in our lives and left them in the grave. However, as we remember at this time of year ever so brilliantly, Jesus is no longer in the grave, and because such is the case we better not leave ourselves as Christians there either ! Not at least, when in God there is an awakening strong enough to break winter’s grip !

It is quite the time for we as Christians (especially in America) who have delighted in the glorious truths of the reformation, to begin living for the glorious God we have come to know, with power, as if we have been raised with Christ, since we really have been (Colossians 3:1) ! And pastors, O, dear pastors, if we do not begin calling together those under our charge to gospel obedience, instead of theological brilliance, we may leave both ourselves and our hearers in the grave that they were not meant to stay in (cf. 1 Tim. 4:16).

Spurgeon’s Sorrows, a book by Zack Eswine, by Christian Focus–a review

Anything Spurgeon will do. A single sermon by Spurgeon is helpful and edifying to the church, but rarely do we see someone compiling both a compendium of sermons and thoughts by Spurgeon to gather such helpful teaching on a topic such as depression. Such a task was performed by Eswine which opened by eyes to how often Spurgeon spoke of this subject, and how it was an important part of his ministry. Today it seems we think times are uniquely different from the times of who we consider the ‘greats’ of the faith. However, Spurgeon’s Sorrows will teach us to not become reversely proud of our sufferings as if they are greater in number or existence from the time beforehand. I cannot recommend this book too highly. Based on my other reviews, I really would have to give this book more than five stars, or decrease the stars of my other reviews to properly represent the value of this book and the timing of it. This is for several reasons:

First, I learned from this book how this personal struggle with depression aided Mr. Spurgeon’s ministry so well. He was able to understand those he ministered to in such a way that he would not have otherwise. A case could be made that without the malady of depression Spurgeon would not have been so effective as he was then and now.

Secondly, I was pleasantly surprised out how much Spurgeon referred to his struggle with depression in his sermons. He was like Paul in boasting in his weakness that the power of Christ may rest upon him and his ministry. What an example for pastors today to follow ! Could it be that God can use our struggles that we cannot easily overcome to help us understand and minister to others better than if we had them not, if we would but voice them !

Thirdly, I found a great deal of hope in the gospel personally for me as I read this book. I saw the remedies were not just for ministry to others, but a ministry to my own soul when becoming despondent or gloomy.

One last thing I believe readers need to know about this book is that this book is not simply a repeating of all that Spurgeon had said on the topic, but a careful gathering and outputting of the information with the author’s own experience and thoughts. It is indeed a unique work that I receive as a gift to the church, a blessing I pray will really help people keep from giving up, and be a tool to help Christians minister to the despondent with confidence and humility.

A copy of this book was provided for me by the publisher in exchange for a fair review.

Jesus says to love your enemies. This is what is so extraordinary about the quality of Christian love. Everyone is inclined to love those who love them, but the Christian has a new constitution about him or her that makes them love their enemies. The Greek for this is [perisson] which is translated in Matthew 5:47 as “more.” There it says:

ESV Matthew 5:47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?

The “more” is the extraordinary, the remarkable quality that the Christian possesses. Dietrich Bonhoeffer speaks of this aspect of the Christian’s love in his book the Cost of Discipleship. That is what spurred me on to write this post. He says:

“What is the [perisson]? It is the life described in the beautitudes…it is the love of Jesus Christ himself…The passio [suffering?] in the love of the Crucified is the supreme expression of the “extraordinary” quality of the Christian life. The “extraordinary” quality is undoubtedly identical with the light which shines before men for which they glorify their Father which is in heaven. It cannot be hidden under a bushel, it must be seen of men…The “extraordinary” …is something which the followers of Jesus do. It must be done like the better righteousness, and done so that all men can see it. It is not strict Puritanism, not some eccentric pattern of Christian living, but simple, unreflecting obedience to the will of Christ. If we make the “extraordinary” our standard, we shall be led into the passio of Christ, and in that its peculiar quality will be displayed. This activity itself is ceaseless suffering. In it the disciple endures the suffering of Christ. If this is not so, then this is not the activity of which Jesus speaks. Hence the [perisson] is the fulfillment of the law, the keeping of the commandments. In Christ crucified and in his people the “extraordinary” becomes reality. These are the perfect [i.e. matured], the men in whom the undivided love of the Heavenly Father is perfected…The perfect are none other than the blessed of the beatitudes.” (p.153-54)

The extraordinary is the ordinary for the Christian. It is certainly a missional love. A love that takes the gospel to the nations in a very real way. The Christian love is one that asks, what “more” are you doing than others ?

Not even God fights a war merely by the air, but deploys ground troops (however spiritual) to decimate the enemy. I pastor a church in a military town. I certainly do not know war like the many I pastor have known war, but I do know war as a pastor. This is because the Christian life is a war if there ever was one. It does not take much length in ministry to realize that proclamation of the Word (the air battle) from the pulpit alone will not win wars for the hearts of men, women, boys, and girls who need Jesus. Every week an active effort must be made to deploy individuals and families to go into their homes, workplaces, military bases, and otherwise and decimate the enemy with spiritual ground weapons, namely with the Word they have been equipped. This is a ministry principle.

And if there was ever an enemy that demands ground troops spiritually speaking, it is the enemy within us called sin. We can hear a thousand sermons from the pulpit air, but remain defeated and weak because we are unwilling to deploy the arsenal of spiritual armory into the battlefield of our own hearts ! Unless we are willing to get on the ground with our sin and fight it, we will lose.

Furthermore, others don’t come to know Jesus simply by sermons, for the Kingdom of God is not in word only but in power ! There is a ground war call to go and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe all that Jesus has commanded us. Baptizing and teaching are ground items given to every member of the church of God.

And if that were not enough, Jesus promises to be with us, literally with us by His Spirit in us on earth to go and make disciples. Making disciples is ground war. It took the God of Glory to send His only Son from heaven to come to the ground and take on flesh and suffer a bloody battle for you and me to be saved. Wars are simply not won by the air alone, they are won by God alone, for He rules all, and they are won by both air and ground under His rule.

I think we should learn something from the avoidance of nations putting troops on the ground to decimate the enemy, namely, that if we did that in ministry we would lose. God has been reaching the nations for centuries by a solid for sure winning plan, we should not ignore this in the church, it takes both pulpit preaching and the ground work of Christian disciples making disciples in their homes, workplaces, military bases, etc. I am not writing to steer government here on the physical realm, I am writing to the church. If wisdom comes from Scripture on these terms to help nations to fight and win wars that is simply something I am not intending, but I do see wisdom in the fact that from natural revelation wars are not won by the air alone, and neither are spiritual battles. That’s what I see, it helps me in ministry. It challenges me about the necessity of deploying members of the church into the places they live and work to share the gospel. And truly, that is what brings lasting peace in a world that thinks peace will be brought about by either avoidance of bloodshed or by greater measures of bloodshed. World, you are missing the point! The blood that was shed that was necessary for lasting peace has been shed already by the Lord of Glory, even the Lord Jesus Christ (cf. Heb. 9:22). Accept Him today as your Lord and Savior and receive everlasting peace ! This teaching may drop like a bomb from the air on some, but I am confident, wherever it may have effect, will be wherever there are disciples making disciples and praying for the lost everyday. Where those things are not happening, you can launch the greatest sermon in the world, and it will be a dud. But when you launch a sermon into the lives of people prepared on the ground already through prayers and disciple-makers, it can change the world !

When God told Moses He would give him a glimpse of His Glory, He took him up a mountain and preached to him a sermon ! Oh, the great value of preaching the gospel ! That people may see God in Christ ! But it was not this supreme thing alone that would conquer and drive out enemies, but it was that Moses was secondarily instructed to come down from the mountain and read the words to the people and later to go forward trusting God’s promises to drive out the enemy. There was so much more than just delivering the message. Though the message was supreme, it was not total. Spiritual battle is won by great sermons coupled with people applying them in their everyday lives on the ground by great disciple-makers.

]]>http://catherinelakebaptist.com/blog/feb-8-2015-sermon/feed/0noA sermon on Prayer By Brian MannPastor MannA sermon on Prayer By Brian MannReformedhttp://catherinelakebaptist.com/blog/feb-8-2015-sermon/http://catherinelakebaptist.com/blog/audio/bm2815.mp3Go up to The Mountain of Mercyhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CatherineLakeBaptistChurch/~3/7Vy1LfHFr-0/
http://catherinelakebaptist.com/blog/go-up-to-the-mountain-of-mercy/#commentsTue, 03 Feb 2015 20:23:28 +0000catherinelakebaptist@gmail.com (Pastor Mann)http://catherinelakebaptist.com/blog/?p=12192I am in the midst of preparing a sermon on extraordinary prayer, and this sermon is working on me. I ended my prep time today with this song, that I find making me go up to the Mountain of Mercy. Enjoy ! [two versions of videos below, the second is easier to sing along with, original lyrics are in between. One may be able to find other versions online, but these are the two I found at this time]

Original Song Title: Scandalous Night (lyrics below)

go on up to the mountain of mercy
to the crimson perpetual tide
kneel down on the shore
be thirsty no more
go under and be purified

follow Christ to the Holy mountain
sinner, sorry and wrecked by the fall
cleanse your heart and your soul
in the fountain that flows
for you and for me and for all

Chorus
at the wonderful tragic mysterious tree
on that beautiful scandalous night you and me
were atoned by His blood and forever washed white
on that beautiful scandalous night

on the hillside you will be delivered
at the foot of the cross, justified
and your spirit restored
by the river that pours
from our blessed Saviour’s side

– Chorus –

Bridge
you carry the sin of mankind on your back
and the sky went black
go on up to the mountain of mercy
go the crimson perpetual tide
kneel down on the shore
be thirsty no more
go under and be purified

One has said Superbowl Commercials are windows into our culture. Movies and books like Fifty Shades of Gray are as well. But so are pulpits that take these things and make them cute means of contextualization. Believe it or not there are already sermon series being developed on Fifty Shades. Glad the gospel is being preached, but we should have some limits on contextualization, even if it is for the reason of “taste” alone. But what can we see in the window per se of our culture about the popularity of Fifty Shades? I think we can see that abusive relationships physically, emotionally, spiritually, sexually, etc. are on the mind of people. Why this is the case is often because this is where people live and think. The phenomena is especially revealing in the UK and United States where God’s power is largely absent in ways that it is present in areas where revival is present. When the fantasy of women becomes emotional and physical abuse there is no wonder why marriages are broken. But the solution is only One named Jesus Christ who speaks and is kind to you, loves you truly, doesn’t abuse emotionally or physically, and who gives value to life, and doesn’t deface it for human appetite. Yes, we can see into our culture, but looking into Christ is a total contrast these days. Let’s not be so tasteless to title our sermons after what is detestable; avoid even the appearance of evil. Give people something far more brilliant to be attracted to !

When People Are Big and God is Small: Overcoming Peer Pressure, Codependency, and the Fear of Man is a book by Edward T. Welch. I found this book an excellent treatment of an essential Christian subject of the fear of man versus the fear of God. In the end you will find the latter wins.

Welch simply does an excellent job of using biblical theology and counseling experience to aid Christian believers in the church to break free of the false teaching of the love cup need based psychology that is rampant in the world and unfortunately churches today. The alternative is much better, a fear of God that is not terrifying but ultimately comforting from the top down.

We need more books like this to help us look to whom really fills our cup from above. When we begin to look to people to do the job of God we will be sorely disappointed (though we can hardly call this a job). I can’t think of another book that has treated this subject of the fear of God versus the fear of man so well. I believe this is one for every Christian to read and be freed. Everyone can grow in this area.

“R. C. Sproul, who drafted the original Chicago Statement of Biblical Inerrancy, once said, “When people ask me how old the earth is, I tell them I don’t know—because I don’t.” Contrary to what is often implied or claimed by young-earth creationists, the Bible nowhere directly teaches the age of the earth.” (cited from http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2015/01/28/biblical-reasons-to-doubt-the-creation-days-were-24-hour-periods/)

However, it does not take much research to realize that R.C. Sproul does not hold this view and rightly so. He now states:

“For most of my teaching career, I considered the framework hypothesis to be a possibility. But I have now changed my mind. I now hold to a literal six-day creation” (cited from Feb. 9, 2011 article at http://www.ligonier.org/blog/what-rc-sprouls-position-creation/)

This matter is not a neutral issue, nor is it an issue that does not matter. Having a view of Creation that does not accord with the literal reading of Genesis, a historical narrative, is a denial of the Scriptures teachings. The motivation behind a compromise of the literal reading of Genesis in the past was in order “to reconcile Christianity with Greek philosophy much as the Jewish writer Philo of Alexandria (20 BC– AD 50) had tried to do, while not rejecting the major biblical doctrine that one God created all things” (Joel Beeke, What Did the Reformers Believe About the Age of the Earth, p.2).

The article put out today by Justin Taylor has in its title “Biblical reasons to doubt” the six day creation view. That is not neutral ! It may be said that neo-evangelicals are losing their minds when it comes to this matter. It is my hope that Justin Taylor will reconsider his viewpoint just as R.C. Sproul has done and side with the Bible’s clear teaching of Scripture.

Besides, though Sproul once said what Justin Taylor stated, he also said that he was wrong. This would be the right thing for Justin Taylor to do. Let not many become teachers. Our responsibility is great and we have a responsibility to get this right and hold to the literal reading of Genesis 1, and teach others to do the same.

]]>http://catherinelakebaptist.com/blog/neo-evangelicalism-losing-their-minds-on-the-creation-account/feed/0http://catherinelakebaptist.com/blog/neo-evangelicalism-losing-their-minds-on-the-creation-account/Now That’s a Call to Worship !http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CatherineLakeBaptistChurch/~3/H7ssEAdTzx8/
http://catherinelakebaptist.com/blog/now-thats-a-call-to-worship/#commentsWed, 28 Jan 2015 14:35:10 +0000catherinelakebaptist@gmail.com (Pastor Mann)http://catherinelakebaptist.com/blog/?p=12173There is a both a daily and weekly call to worship, one […]]]>

There is a both a daily and weekly call to worship, one that is presented in our secular world and in our spiritual one (not to mince categories too much). The daily call to worship is the creation that was made declaring the glory of God, that He alone is worthy of worship.

“creation exists to serve the needs of those who have been redeemed by Jesus Christ, and chief among those needs is that of knowing the Lord and loving Him more.” (T.M. Moore, He Has Come, p.77)

Yet, we take creation for granted, and that means we take the daily call to worship for granted. We are often users of creation in a way that does not study and consider what creation is there for. Creation exists to serve us in the need for us to know and love Jesus more. Creation exists to call us to daily worship and praise to God !

There is a second call to worship that takes place each Lord’s Day in most church services. It is written in bulletins called “the call to worship” or something similar. I have often confused this with giving thanks which is really an outflow of a proper call to worship. A proper call to worship is strictly God-centered. Whereas the call to worship from Creation says something about God from what God has made, the call to worship from Scripture says something about God from what God has said (of course in both things God is speaking).

But to be clear, the Scriptural call to worship spoken on Sunday by service leaders everywhere may be best focused on some Name of God, a verse highlighting who God is. For as Edward T. Welch has so aptly stated:

“From the Bible’s perspective, God deserves praise simply because he is God.” (When People Are Big, and God is Small, p.154)

Also, just like we neglect the calls of creation, we neglect the calls of Scripture. What if we began responding to the daily and weekly calls to worship? We must not take creation nor Scripture for granted. Just like we are to study Scripture we are to study Creation to see new things about God and worship Him. Such is a proper study of science that should make us exclaim at every discovery how great God is !

“unbelieving men do not find God in the cosmos. The reasons is simple: they choose not to.” (T.M. Moore, He Has Come, p.77)

But we should be careful of judging sinful man, when the church can choose not to find God in the Scriptures. When we choose not to respond to the call with praise. When we choose not to meditate over what is said and obey the call.

The neglect of creation resources in this world is no less a sin than the neglect of Scripture resources. I saw recently a show that went into a village of people who were taking the overgrown kudzu plant and turning it into salable products. The thing is they will never run out ! Managing creation can certainly become for many without God their false god. However, managing creation and resources for God’s glory and seeing God’s glory in the creation he has provided us to enjoy is a good thing. There is indeed a consequence to a poor stewardship of God’s resources given on earth.

In the same way, there is a consequence of poor stewardship of God’s resources given in worship services. The call to worship at the beginning of service is one of those resources. As I grow in my understanding, I try to reflect that in the texts chosen. Because I have learned that the call to worship is really about simply praising God for who He is, I have selected texts that are related to God’s Name and character. For example this week, I have selected the name of God Elohim, Strong Creator. The Scripture chosen is:

17 ‘Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.

This is just an example. Though one will not see the actual Name of God in the bulletin, they will hear of His character in the Scripture to be read. When it is read, we have a choice to make: Will we contemplate it, and respond to the Word with praise not simply for what God has done for us, but for who God is ?

Why is this so practically important ? The Call to Worship in the aforementioned way is so practically important because there are times we struggle to find things to thank God for not because God has not done something in our lives, but because we are forgetful and sluggish to things He has done. But the Call to Worship raises us out of our stupor with focus on God Himself regardless of what we can see experimentally in our lives yet. I find that this presents the best platform to begin with to lead God’s people into an awareness of all God has done and is doing and will do for them. But we must begin with God, simply God. That is a Call to Worship !

Such was the cry of Mary in the narrative on the incarnation of our Lord. His birth was one that brought hope to the world. Hope keeps you from giving up and giving in knowing that life ahead is worth giving to. It seems impossible for a person to live without some form of hope. But to live a life that is a based on a false hope is not wise. What are you hoping for ?

I can’t remember what I hoped for or what ever kept me going before Jesus Christ revealed Himself to me–but it couldn’t have been substantial and real. Fear of things and people captivated me, and the only future I could imagine was one of independence and power. But it was probably even more shallow than that !

Even as a Christian, hope grows. The more revelation of the mystery of Christ, the more hope grows. Such keeps you in the race with eyes on finishing well. It is because “God chose to make” this known (Col. 1:27).

God is a holy God whom we do not merely reflect, but whom we refract as light moves through us as a demonstration of His power in our world to the world. God commands we be holy ‘because’ He is holy. His commands to us are a delight ‘because’ having delivered us from our sins, we are given to a new internal and eternal way of living. Christ is in us (Col. 1:27), and this is glorious. It is not glorious simply to reflect the Son, but to have Him as your life. When the eternal become internal, then there is hope, real lasting glorious hope.

I am puzzled as to why there is resistance among the reformed today concerning asking Jesus into your heart, when that is the very place He wants to be. And when He is there, the display of His glory in our lives is absolutely convincing and astounding. But to give the benefit of the doubt, these authors and preachers are probably speaking of the shallowness of professing Christ without knowing Him. Indeed, with that we can all agree there is a problem–people’s lives who do not have Christ in heart and mind have very ugly lives.

And what I mean by ugly lives is not the exterior ugliness of the skin, but the distorted meanderings of actions that are hideous in response to circumstances in life. A person without hope looks like they are walking through the dark, but everyone else sees them in the light. It is not pretty.

Nor should it be pretty for a human being made in God’s image to not be living for the One Who Created them. When life is put back on track, it fears neither man nor circumstance because the one thing that is necessary to come to light has come to light–namely Jesus Christ, the hope of Glory. And He does not just come to light, He comes right down beside them and resides in them to live for the purpose and end for which they were created. May His Spirit work in His people in these days to do something glorious for His Name !